Insight: Graphite story ‘like iron ore’ rise, says Flanagan

Two-time Atlas Iron boss David Flanagan reckons the graphite market now is similar to the iron ore market leading up to a 2011 peak in the price of the commodity.

And the recently appointed executive chairman of Battery Minerals believes his new company is well placed to take advantage of it. Speaking at a business breakfast yesterday, Mr Flanagan said the world was seeing an exponential growth in electric vehicles, powered by lithium-ion batteries which use graphite.

“Morgan Stanley is predicting a 50 per cent to 60 per cent penetration of electric vehicles into the combustion market over the next 30 years — the growth figures are amazing,” he said.

Mr Flanagan said in the area where the company’s two graphite projects were in Mozambique, Chinese interests were pegging tenements, taking equity placements and strategic options — the same things that were happening in the iron ore space between 2006 and 2009.

Battery Minerals, formerly Metals of Africa, is focused on the Montepuez and Balama graphite projects, the latter of which is adjacent to Syrah Resources’ project of the same name.

The company is also commissioning a 10,000tpa “spherical graphite” project in the US — a premium battery-grade material used in the production of anodes.

Shares in Battery Minerals closed down 0.4¢, or 5.88 per cent, at 6.4¢ yesterday.